Conditions We Treat

A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury that occurs when a person's brain moves around inside the skull and/or bangs against it. Although the injury may seem mild, it can affect a child's or teen’s health, thinking ability, behavior and mood, school performance and social interactions.

A concussion can be caused by a fall, car crash or sports injury. With rest and reduced activity, kids often recover on their own in a week or two. Other children and teens might require weeks or even months of therapy, rehabilitation and taking a break from school, sports and other physical and cognitive activities.

Program Highlights

• Nemours is the only pediatric provider in the region to offer a comprehensive concussion screening program that uniquely combines four separate tests. These "baseline" tests are done before your child gets a concussion — this gives our doctors a baseline of your child's thinking ability and balance when not injured, so that they can compare the before-and-after results if a concussion does occur.
• Our program combines the contributions of our pediatric rehabilitation medicine and neurology specialists, along with sports medicine physicians and staff from our orthopedic department. Members of our neuropsychology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology (balance specialists), physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy staff may be called in as well.

Learn More About:

• Concussions
• Neurology
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Physical Therapy
• Sports Medicine Center

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by seizures (uncontrolled jerking movements and/or a momentary loss of awareness). Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable instances to long periods of vigorous shaking.

The cause of the seizures is abnormal excessive activity in a specific part of the brain. But the cause for epilepsy itself is unknown — although some people develop the disorder as a result of brain injury, stroke, brain tumor or substance use.

Program Highlights

• Our Epilepsy Program achieved a Level 4 accreditation from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC), meaning we have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level of medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.

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• Epilepsy
• Neurology
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy

For some children and teens, headaches and migraines can be a serious and recurring problem. They can have a major impact on how kids feel, act and play, affecting both how they get along with others and how they do in school.

Your initial visit with us may be with a specially trained pediatric neurologist or other expert, who will check for what might be causing the headaches and start treatment if necessary. A specially trained advanced practice nurse (APN) will help you manage your child’s day-to-day care, coordinating with other providers as needed.

Program Highlights

• With a combination of medication, education and other approaches, we provide a complete program to evaluate the cause of your child’s headaches, identify what activities and substances may trigger the headaches, help relieve pain, and help prevent the headaches from even starting. We'll also educate you and your child about ways to avoid headache triggers.
• Our staff will take your child's complete medical history and conduct a thorough neurological exam to establish the nature, duration, frequency and possible triggers of the headaches. We’ll determine whether your child is having migraines or another kind of headache and order imaging studies (radiology tests), if needed.
• In addition to treatment with medication, we may recommend Healing Touch (an evidence-based therapy, often provided by a specially-trained nurse, that uses both gentle touch and nontouch methods to increase relaxation, relieve pain and reduce stress) or other integrative medicine therapies, which we can offer right here at the hospital.

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• Concussions
• Epilepsy
• Headaches
• Integrative Medicine
• Neurology

There are a number of neuromuscular disorders found in children, with different symptoms, causes, treatments and long-term outlooks. Some are genetic (inherited) and some are acquired (developing during childhood). We'll work to understand the causes and effects of your child's condition, and maximize strength and function.

Types of neuromuscular disorders include motor neuron diseases like spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), peripheral neuropathies like Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and neuromuscular junction diseases such as myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophies and metabolic and inflammatory processes affecting the muscles.

Program Highlights

• Our Muscular Dystrophy Program is truly world-class, and the the only one of its kind in Delaware.
• We offer highly specialized orthotic devices for kids who could benefit from their use but don’t have the financial means to obtain them.
• We host family conferences and visiting professorships for experts in their respective fields.
• Our highly advanced Gait Analysis Laboratory was among the first of its kind.
• We also offer psychological support for families of kids with neuromuscular and neuro-orthopedic (involving the nerves and bones) disorders.

Learn More About:

• Assistive Technology
• Gait Analysis Laboratory
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Neuromuscular Disabilities (PDF)
• Neuromuscular Disorders
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spina bifida is a congenital (present at birth) condition that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings. We know that with spina bifida, the spine fails to close properly during the first month of pregnancy, but the cause is unknown.

A child born with spina bifida (also called “myelomeningocele”) or the related disorder lipomeningocele (when the “open” spine is covered over by an area of fatty tissue) often has some sort of damage to the nerves of the spinal cord. The extent of this damage can vary widely, but may include paralysis in the lower extremities and loss of bowel and bladder control. Children with spina bifida may have hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) as well, and some may also experience attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other learning difficulties.

Program Highlights

• Our program combines the contributions of our neurology and neurosurgery specialists, along with physicians and staff from orthopedics and urology.
  
• Our spina bifida experts are uniquely prepared to treat the medical challenges of the condition and to give children the tools they need to grow into active, independent adults.

Learn More About:

• Assistive Technology
• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• Occupational Therapy
• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Psychology & Psychiatry
• Spina Bifida
• Urology

• arachnoid cysts (fluid-filled sac inside the head or spine)
• arteriovenous malformations (abnormal connection between arteries and veins)
• brachial plexus injuries (spinal cord nerves that signal to the shoulder, arms and hands)
• brain and spinal cord injuries
• brain and spinal cord tumors
• Chiari malformation (when brain tissue extends down into the spinal cord)
• congenital anomalies of the neck and back (birth defects)
• craniosynostosis (skull bones fuse together before the brain has stopped growing)
• dural fistulas (abnormal connection between arteries and veins in the outer layer of the brain)
• epilepsy (neurological seizure disorder)
• head, neck and back trauma
• herniated discs (slipped or ruptured discs between the vertebrae)
• holoprosencephaly (when a fetus’ forebrain doesn’t divide into cerebral hemispheres in the womb)
• hydrocephalus (increased spinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain)
• idiopathic intracranial hypertension (increased spinal fluid pressure in the brain)
• intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding inside the skull)
• malformations of the head and neck
• Moyamoya disease (blockage of the internal carotid arteries)
• neurofibromatosis types I and II (nerve tissue tumors)
• pituitary and pineal gland lesions (craniopharyngiomas, germ cell tumors)
• positional plagiocephaly (flattened head)
• spasticity (muscle stiffness and/or involuntary movement)
• spina bifida (neural tube defect of the spine)
• spinal cord dysfunction and spinal cord injury (including conditions resulting in ventilator dependency)
• spine tumors
• Sturge-Weber syndrome (marked by vascular birthmark and neurological abnormalities)
• syringomyelia (cyst in the spinal cord)
• tethered spinal cord (when the spinal cord is attached to the spinal column)
• tuberous sclerosis (benign lesions of the nervous system)
• vascular anomalies of the head and neck

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• developmental delays
• epilepsy and other seizure disorders
• headache and migraines
• learning and language disorders
• metabolic and inflammatory processes affecting the muscles
• motor neuron diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy
• muscle and nerve disorders
• neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, anterior lateral sclerosis/ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease
• neuromuscular junction diseases such as myasthenia gravis
• peripheral neuropathies such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• sleep disorders
• Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders
• tumors in the nervous system (such as neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis and other neurocurtaneous syndromes)

Learn More About Neurology »